The Canadian government announced on Saturday that it will soon cover the full cost of common contraceptives for women –including intrauterine devices (IUDs), contraceptive pills and hormonal implants – as part of a major health care reform that ensures that cost never gets in the way of desired contraception.
This was announced in a tweet published by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau on the social platform X, previously known as Twitter.
Women should be free to choose the contraceptives they need without cost getting in the way.
So, we’re making contraceptives free.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) March 30, 2024
Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, highlighted the financial cost of contraceptives as one of the largest barriers to access, and said that the federal government’s universal pharmacare plan would aim to lower that bar for more than nine million Canadian women, whether for reasons of family planning or medical treatment.
Danielle Mazza, head of general practice at Australia’s Monash University and director of the Sphere Centre of Research Excellence in women’s sexual and reproductive health, works closely with colleagues in Canada and has been looking on “enviously” as they’ve rolled out changes.
“What they’ve managed to do in Canada is make a very strong economic argument around free contraception,” she told an Australian TV channel.
Mazza explained that Australia and Canada have very similar healthcare systems, with family physicians playing a large role in contraceptive provisions – and said Australia should “absolutely” be following Canada’s lead on the issue.
Source: SBS TV.
